A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 



whippcrs-in being T. Percy and T. Sheffield. 

 The establishment is handsomely kept up, and 

 is at the present day notable as being one of the 



difficulties became serious, and the old East 

 Sussex seem finally to have come to an end in 

 1843, m wn ' cn y ear were held the last East 



very last of the 'packs of hounds formerly Sussex Hunt races, a meeting which had been in 

 numerous in England which are maintained at existence since 1829. 

 the sole charge and expense of a territorial 

 magnate. 



THE FIRST EAST SUSSEX HUNT 



This hunt is described in Baily's Hunting 

 Directory as dating from 1853. But the old 

 Sporting Magazines and other records show that 

 a pack of hounds of that name was hunting in 

 Sussex as far back as 1823. 'Nimrod,' in his 

 ' Hunting Tours,' writes thus in the Sporting 

 Magazine of that year. ' On the following day 

 (2 6th Feb.) I met the East Sussex Subscription 

 Pack at Clayton Cross, six miles from Brighton.' 

 He had a fair day with them and saw a fox killed. 

 The hounds were, in his opinion, not nearly so 

 smart a pack as Colonel Wyndham's, with 

 which he had hunted the day before. 



Still (he says) handsome is that handsome does. 

 They found their foxes where there were any to be 

 found, and killed the one they settled to in a gallant 

 manner. In drawing, they were certainly unsteady ; 

 but they are a young pack, of only three years' 

 standing, and perfection in hounds is allowed to be a 

 plant of very slow growth. 



The kennels of the East Sussex pack were 

 then at Ringmer Barracks, not far from the 

 existing kennels of the South Down pack, and 

 the hounds were under the management of one 



O 



of their 'contributory masters' (the term is 

 Nimrod's), Major Cator, R.A. Lord Gage 

 was a principal subscriber and supporter, and 

 hunted pretty regularly with the pack. ' Nim- 

 rod ' complains that the hound language of the 

 East Sussex huntsman (one Perkins) at this 

 time was poor, and not to be compared with 

 that of Colonel Wyndham. He was ' very 

 lavish of his lingo, but it was Greek to me. 

 His " Halloo-away " is a complete view halloo.' 

 At this time the old East Sussex, which, as a 

 matter of fact, were the forerunners of the South 

 Down pack, seem to have hunted near New- 

 haven, Ashcombe Park, Stanmer Park, Glynde- 

 bourne, Laughton, Firle, and other places now 

 in the South Down country. The War Office 

 seems to have heard of hounds being kept at 

 Ringmer Barracks, and orders were sent for 

 their removal. They were then taken tem- 

 porarily to Broyle Gate. Lord Gage, who took 

 a keen interest in the welfare of the pack, 

 kennelled them for a time at his own place, 

 Firle Park, and afterwards, in 1827, built new 

 kennels at Rushy Green, Ringmer. Mr. C. J. 

 Craven followed Major Cator as master, having 

 Press as huntsman. To him succeeded Captain 

 Green, a hard man to hounds and a good 

 sportsman. Under the Captain's regime financial 



446 



THE SOUTH DOWN FOXHOUNDS 



In 1843 was inaugurated the South Down 

 Hunt, which evidently was started with the 

 object of continuing to hunt the country of the 

 defunct East Sussex pack. Mr. Freeman 

 Thomas, of Ration, was the first master, and 

 the kennels were removed to Gildridge Farm, 

 Eastbourne. Mr. Freeman Thomas continued 

 at the head of affairs till 1851, when, after a 

 very successful mastership, he was succeeded by 

 Mr. Donovan, of Framfield Place. At this time 

 the kennels were removed to Ringmer, where 

 they have remained ever since. 



Mr. Donovan held the mastership from 1851 

 to 1862, during which period some first-rate 

 sport was shown with these hounds. In 18623 

 a committee held sway, and from 1863 to 1871 

 Mr. W. L. Christie was master. To him suc- 

 ceeded Mr. R. J. Streatfield, who held office 

 until 1 88 1, when he was succeeded by the Hon. 

 Charles Brand, a son of Speaker Brand, created 

 Lord Hampden. The South Down has always 

 been fortunate in long and successful masterships, 

 and Mr. Brand proved no exception to this rule, 

 remaining in office from 1881 to 1898. He 

 hunted the pack himself and showed first-rate 

 sport. In 1898-9 a committee held office, but 

 in the following season Mr. Brand and Mr. H. 

 E. Courage were joint masters till 1901, when 

 Mr. Brand again took sole charge. This gentle- 

 man remained master until 1903, when he was 

 succeeded by Mr. R. W. McKergow, who re- 

 mains at the head of affairs. 



Up till 1891 the South Down hunted as far 

 eastward as Eastbourne and the edge of Pevensey 

 Marsh, but in that year a portion of the country 

 was handed over to the Eastbourne Hunt, and the 

 eastern boundary of the South Down now stops 

 at the Cuckmere River. On the north the 

 hunt is bounded by the territories of the Burstow 

 and Bridge hunts ; on the west, near Cuckfield 

 and New Shoreham, by the Crawley and Hor- 

 sham. The sea forms the southern boundary. 

 The country extends some twenty-five miles 

 from east to west by twenty miles north to 

 south. The South Down country consists of 

 large tracts of down and weald, the latter com- 

 prising about equal areas of grass and arable land. 

 The fences here consist mostly of banks with a 

 ditch and a low fence on top. The Sussex 

 ' bar-ways ' or ' heave-gates ' are common, but 

 they are always jumpable. On the downs there 

 is practically no fencing, and foxes and hounds 

 run very fast. On the whole the South Down 

 may be described as a good scenting country. 



